Christmas break came to an end, and with it, Genna's grounding. While the halls of Hastings High filled with kids and teachers refreshed from their lengthy holiday, the Henderson-Prescott sisters stood outside their homeroom discussing the day ahead of them.
"Hello ladies," Logan grinned as he wrapped his arm around Delilah.
"Hey, Logan." Genna sighed and scrunched her nose in faux disgust as Delilah greeted him with her lips pressed firmly upon his.
Genna quickly scanned the halls. Seeing his mop of dark hair before anything else, she smiled widely at the approaching boy. She bounced on her toes once her peers parted and Archer came into full view.
"Good mornin'," he leaned down and kissed her softly.
"It is now," she beamed.
"You off restriction, finally?"
Genna rolled her eyes; she often thought that Archer could be just as ridiculous as Adam. "Yeah, I am."
"Alright," he nodded. "Even though them eyes are pretty, I still don't like 'em rolled at me." His voice was serious but his lips were turned up at the edges.
Genna quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Don't look at me like that," he laughed. "You ain't the only one who suffers when your attitude gets you into trouble. I gotta go days without you." He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Oh, yea, it's the worst," she smirked.
"Heart breakin'."
Genna shook her head and laughed. "Pure torture, I'm sure."
The bell rang and students filed into the classroom, taking their seats accordingly. Genna would never admit it, but it was nice to be back. The drama with Valerie was finally behind her, she loved seeing her friends, and even enjoyed the structure school provided to her days. She thrived off routine; a characteristic so ingrained, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to shake it. She wished she was as easy going as her sister. Delilah's ability to go with the flow was always something Genna tried to emulate, but couldn't quite get the hang of. It was this need for control that kept her in line, or got her into trouble. That grey area in between was still a difficult place to manage, but Genna was trying her best.
The day passed by quickly, and before they knew it, the girls were on the bus heading home. Their backpacks hung heavily on their shoulders as seemingly every single teacher decided to assign homework on the first day back.
"They planned this. All of 'em. On purpose," Delilah grumbled as she slid her bag off and set it on the ground.
"They live to see us suffer," Genna agreed.
They kicked their shoes off and walked into the kitchen to see Adam standing at the counter. A spread of crackers, pepperoni, and partially sliced cheese sat before him. One hand held the knife he'd been using to chop up his chosen ingredients, while the other held his cell phone. That sight alone would have made the girls stop in their tracks, but it was the grin plastered on his face that really piqued their interest.
Sharing a brief look with Delilah, Genna let out a fake cough to make their presence known.
Adam's eyes snapped up. "Oh, uh, hey girls." He immediately placed his phone in his back pocket and went back to finishing their snack.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, Daddy." Delilah's tone held a hint of suspicion in the greeting.
"How was your day?" Adam asked.
"Not as joyous as yours apparently," Genna mumbled to Delilah. The girls smirked at one another while Adam cleared his throat.
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," he said, not missing their exchange. "Hopefully this'll make up for it." He placed the spread before them on the table.
Delilah grabbed some sprites from the fridge. She slid one across the table to Genna while her eyes remained locked on her father.
He had pulled out his phone again and was reading something. That goofy smile slid right back into place.
"What are you readin' that's so funny?" Delilah asked.
Adam didn't respond; instead his thumbs pecked feverishly at the screen.
"Dad.." Delilah's hand found her hip as she grew annoyed. "DADDY."
"Huh? What is it, baby?" Adam inquired, yet his eyes never left his phone.
Delilah looked at Genna with an expression the brunette couldn't quite put a name to. It was somewhere between disbelief and aggravation.
"Who are you textin'?" Delilah asked outright. Not even attempting to hide the irritation in her voice.
Adam looked up upon hearing it. "Just a friend." He placed the phone in his back pocket again. "So, how was your day?"
"You already asked us that," Delilah snippily reminded.
"Right. Well, what do y'all want for dinner?"
"Can we order pizza?" Genna chimed in.
Adam smiled at her. "Pizza sounds like a great idea. I'm gonna head out to the barn; got a shipment of hay comin' in about 20 minutes. You girls decide what kinda pizzas you want and I'll order it when I'm finished out there."
"Ok, thanks, Dad."
Genna watched him depart. When she turned her eyes to Delilah, the blonde was visibly upset.
"Are you alright?"
"No, I ain't alright! You know as well as I do that his "friend" is a woman!" Delilah's soured face and exaggerated use of air quotations mirrored the disgust in her voice.
"Oookay? So?"
"So, that ain't something I'm okay with!"
Genna rolled her eyes and grinned. "You've gotta be shitting me."
Delilah's only response was to cross her arms. A small pout formed on her lips.
Genna's smile dropped. "You cannot be serious right now. Delilah—"
"It's always just been me and him, though."
Genna gestured to herself, "Um, hello!"
Delilah waved her off. "Oh, you know what I mean!"
"D," Genna sighed, "he deserves to be happy."
"He is happy."
"He deserves to move on from the trauma of losing someone and have a new someone. A female someone."
Delilah narrowed her brows. "Genna, he has us, he doesn't need anyone else."
"Oh for fuck sake." Genna leaned back in her chair. "We don't count! And if we're going by your warped logic, break up with Logan. If Dad doesn't need anyone but us, then we don't need anyone but him."
Delilah raised her chin indignantly. "That's not the same."
"Listen, it's gonna be different, it's gonna suck sharing him, but you've done it before when I came along. He is so happy staring at his phone, let him be happy like that all the time, everywhere."
Delilah sighed and looked down in defeat. She scuffed the toe of her shoe on the floor a few times before looking back up at her sister. "Gaining a sister is different. Do you really want another mother?"
Genna physically recoiled at Delilah's words. "That... it's not... he isn't even that serious with this person."
"Yet," Delilah mumbled.
Letting out another heavy sigh, Genna shook her head. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore. He seems happy, we've not been thrusted into a Disney plot with some evil stepmother. We don't even know if who he's talking to is a love interest. We don't know shit. He gets just as happy about new farming equipment."
Delilah nodded. "Fine, but if I'm right, and he is talkin' to some woman, I swear I will make her life absolute hell if she don't treat him good."
"Bet." Genna laughed in agreement.
Silence spread comfortably between them as they retreated to their own thoughts. Each wondering just who was on the other end of the line. Each envisioning their own idea of what a potential love life for Adam would look like and how it would effect the family trio.
Genna kept replaying Delilah's words over and over again in her mind: Do you really want another mother?
The freshness of her grief after the holidays gave her sister's innocent question greater weight than intended. She would never allow someone to try and take her mother's rightful place in this world. The disrespect of such an act made Genna's chest burn with anger at the mere thought of it.
But Adam deserved happiness.
She tempered her nerves with that thought. If Delilah could take the high road and make room in her life for her, she could do the same for someone else on Adam's behalf... right?
Suddenly Genna's own words, even to herself, didn't sound so convincing.